medifix's Blog

"A War We May Never Win"

A new report from the American Academy of Microbiology begins: The struggle against antibiotic resistance is "A War We Will Never Win". My prayer "Oh Lord, give me the strength to fight a battle that I may never win" published at Medica 2006, was not answered because medical device and drug manufacturers never understood the gravity of this threat. I warned them that all invasive practical procedures, operations, plastic surgery, transplant surgery, hip or knee replacement, open heart surgery, bypass and minor surgical procedures will soon come to a grinding halt. The very technology we’ve created to help us live more comfortable and, yes, often healthier lives will turn around and bite us-hard. This proves just how vulnerable we are despite all our scientific know-how and advances in medicine.

What I said then does not sounds like a B-movie on the Sci-Fi Channel anymore because President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) Presidency, have now establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide. They joined forces to address the urgency of the problem and the need for solutions by signing an international agreement that seeks cooperative ways in which to help combat the global health crisis.   Assistant Secretary for Health and Surgeon General David Satcher, of U.S. Public Health Service U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Antimicrobial Resistance: Solutions to a Growing Public Health Threat. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance as one of the three greatest threats to human health.

I am probably been one of the first few to warn about the threat that will bring an end to our medical profession. My colleagues and friends told me that I am paranoid, pessimistic and negative. I feel sad and cry in pain because my worry was true. We are now forced to watch this drama unfold and will see our children suffer. There is no place to hide and we pay for the atrocities and arrogance for playing God. 

In 1989, we were talking about Staphylococcus but now we have more than ten bacteria and viruses that will bring medical profession down on our knees and threaten our existence on this planet. Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella species, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, TB, Salmonella, E Coli, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Polio, Malaria species are now said to be resistant to most antibiotics and antiseptics.  

"Our life is in their hands"  

Our politicians are adviced by members of medical community based on research conducted in the past and call them "Evidence Based Medicine". They solution they promote and monitor is "Good Hand Washing Technique" . These bacteria are not simple, they are smarter, faster and are armed with eight enzymes that kill us in minutes. They have the knowledge, power and have the technology to manupulate their genes rapidly and help defend themselves. We may take more than twenty years understand how they can restructure their genes in twenty minutes. Resistant bacteria are also capable of transfer information to other harmless bacteria making them lethal killers.

Recently scientist published a disturbing paper, they discovered antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing in alcohol. Ethanol (Alcohol) producer, used Penicillin to eliminate the growth of bacteria during fermentations for half a century. Now they are using higher dose to increase better ethanol yield. Using alcohol wipes to clean wound, prepare skin before injections and operations may now do more harm than good. 

Fabric softeners, disinfectants, shampoos and other household products are spreading drug-resistant bacteria around Britain, scientists have warned. Detergents used in factories and mills are also increasing the odds that some medicines will no longer be able to combat dangerous diseases. Over entusiastic hand wash will have negative impact because bacteria will develop resistance to antiseptics. These bacteria have bio-film to protect and efflux pump to spit out chemicals that threaten them. 

Water, soil, rivers, sewer and beaches were found to be saturated with antibiotic resistant bacteria. Using water , salt water or alcohol to wash hands or clean wounds may not be safe as you think.   Mississippi State University researchers found 162 different species of bacteria, including E. coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and Vibrio in frozen, ready-to-eat shrimp products that were imported from four different countries. Many had become resistant to one or more antibiotics. 

Scientists have warned that resistant bacteria from agricultural environments, may be transmitted to humans, in whom they cause disease that cannot be treated by conventional antibiotics. Research at UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, found that chickens raised on antibiotic-free farms and even those raised under pristine laboratory conditions have high levels of bacteria that are resistant to common antibiotics. Researchers at Birmingham and Warwick University have discovered a link between the antibiotics used to treat farm animals - in particular pigs - and the spread drug resistance bacteria in the soil. Vicks Sinex was withdrwan because they are contaminated with superbugs (present in plant extract) that can colonize in your nose.

I think your scientists are very short sighted and are still debating about finding good evidence based medical research to answer their questions and come out with solutions to combat this threat. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to bring in result because the problem is far beyond their reach. The strength of these micro-organisms, combined with the global warming will inevitably encourage their spread.   In 2008, flu epidemic in USA 64% children who died were infected with Multi Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia. The deaths were very rapid: 45% of the children died within 72 hours of their first symptoms and 75% died within a week.

Now still hope my blogs make some difference to lives of few people especially children because "Knowleddge of Health is Knowledge of Life".

"Time may come when Penicillin can be bought by any one in the shop, then there is a danger that an ignorant man may easily under-dose himself making microbes resistant to penicillin"  

Alexander Fleming; Inventor of Penicillin, 1940